Living Water
The golden sun was already behind the mountain my minivan was crawling down when I found the dirt and limestone turn off with sign to Villa Molla. It added another hairpin turn to the 20 some I’d just completed on the way over the mountain pass into Theth.
I took a breath and hoped that plunging left down this steep loose drive would actually get me to my destination. And I remembered visiting my aunt and uncle who lived above Wanship, Utah. I’d driven dirt roads in mountains in the past, in another lifetime. So down I went, easing my Volkswagen down at nearly a 45º angle.
Around the bend, the dirt road opened up to the guest house on my left, and a steeply uphill grassy parking space to my right. Everything was the colour of bone white with a coating of limestone dust or gilded with late summer hues.
I parked, then sighed deeply. I’d finally arrived.
Only when I went to get out of the car did I notice how stiff my body was. I’d been traveling the whole day and now it was golden hour in an Alpine valley.
I walked towards the guesthouse. A man rose from a sofa on the porch to greet me. He wanted to be sure I had the correct guesthouse, as people often confuse it for the guesthouse a bit further down the road. I assured him it was the correct location; I’d been conversing with them via email over parking so I was certain.
We walked into the guesthouse through an arched entry and into unexpected darkness. He apologised and said the generator was just about to kick on. I helped by lighting the torch on my phone for him as he searched the accommodation register.
He said that while they had solar panels, there was a limit to how much they could use from them to encourage the guesthouses to buy expensively priced electricity. Instead, many of the guesthouses invested in generators to offset what the limited solar power could provide.
He was surprised to see me alone, especially travelling with that minivan. I explained that I was visiting Blue Eye at the advice of Albanian friends, rented the car from Albanian contacts, and then would be meeting friends in Shkoder for Sunday church.
I paid for my room with a Revolut card, and he told me any further costs would be tallied at checkout. He said I had room 8, and that made him excited because, he said, it’s one of the rooms with the best views. Of course this piqued my interest. Then he said that because everything had to be brought in or was locally sourced for dinners there, they worked on a reservation system where you let the hotel know your dinner order before 6:30pm.
I asked his name, and he introduced himself as Victor. Victor offered to help me with my luggage.
I carried my camera backpack and Stanley cup, he carried my two carry-on size suitcases, and we climbed wide stone stairs past wood-shuttered windows to my room.
Victor explained the water was pure from their spring and safe to drink from the tap. Then he turned to go back downstairs. As soon as the door closed, I turned on my phone camera and walked with heightened anticipation to the wood-clad balcony.
The balcony itself partially obscured by sheer embroidered curtains, the landscape beyond part of why I’d gone to such considerable lengths to reach this particular place. I pulled back the curtain and choked on my breath as the view of the Accursed Mountains, the vertical valley, and the evening light all came into view. At a guesthouse across the valley, people were singing traditional Albanian songs. Cow bells rang in the valley. An evening haze mixed with limestone dust hung like a prayer.
I could barely pull myself away. But ultimately, the deadline to order food shook me from the mountain’s grasp. First, though, I removed my hiking boots and support socks with relish, watching as the socks stretched with my exertion. I’d tidy those later in my room. Now it was time for leather sandals, though I ached to walk barefoot, my footwear of choice.
Then I refilled my Stanley cup with water from the tap, and added my Noordcode electrolytes. I took a sip and my mouth was filled with the roundest, most cold and curious water I’d ever experienced. It reminded me briefly of drinking water at my grandparents’ home, Wildewood, in the forests of western Oregon. Water with presence. This water was alive in ways I had not realised were missing from my filtered city water until I’d drunk from the cup. It felt like mercury moving in the mouth.
I went down the stairs, and I ordered my first dinner of grilled local vegetables and chicken. Since it was just before 6:30pm, we decided it would be best ready at 7:30pm. So I took my camera bag and walked a bit further down the dirt road as the light faded.
Presently, I came to another guest house. I was nervous to walk through there not being a guest myself, so I turned back to climb back up the road. Everything was either up or down in Theth, I realised. Along the road, trees bowed with ripe fruits of the season.
Once back at Villa Molla, I took a seat at the far end of the garden facing the valley and just absorbed the view and the sounds until my dinner was ready. Unbelievable, I thought, how I could lose myself in a landscape and not once worry about my phone.
While I was sitting, I noticed a small delight for me. As the porch lights came on, kittens appeared near the house with their mother. Soon, the kittens were playing and chasing with a small child who was also waiting for his dinner.
It being nearly 7:30pm, I decided to ask Victor a question. I wanted to know if I could just freely wander on the footpaths crossing the valley, or if that would be a problem for the landowners in the area. But when I asked if I could walk the paths, it became clear that ‘path’ wasn’t a word that registered. He and the other employee there then reassured me that I could walk everywhere as a tourist, within reason, as people kept dogs that patrolled properties at night. The caution was if there’s a climbing stile, you can go over it, but if there is a fence, do not hop it.
I asked dryly how they’d know I was a tourist, and they both laughed. Theth is a small family community, and somehow my light hair and blue eyes would immediately give me away, even from 100 meters away.
When I sat to eat my dinner, the kittens came to beg at the table. Victor came apologising to hurry them away, saying with mild affectionate exasperation ‘They no longer respect me because I feed them!’ Due to my gastroparesis, I was not able to finish all of my chicken, so Victor offered it to the kittens while I returned to my room.
He’d promised that I could see the Milky Way when the lights went out, and said that the best point to view it was back up at the top of the mountain pass where there was a cross and a small parking lot. I told him I was not keen on driving the mountain curves in the dark. But the stars called out to me.
So, in my room, I set up my tripod and tried various ways to capture the stars. I wanted to continue into the night but realised that by doing so, I’d compromise my morning hike to Blue Eye the next morning. So, by the lamplight flickering in time to the generator, I wrote a few notes about my day and crawled into bed, balcony and window open to the heavens.
Just as I was drifting off to sleep, the gentle scent of the room hit me. Why did this mountain room in a foreign country smell like my grandparents’ home?
Know before you go:
Albania is a cash market. You can easily find ATMs in many cities and the airport, and you’ll get the best rate in the cities. Do not convert to euros as it’s just as easy to carry LEK. If you have a Revolut card, you can also pay at some locations.
Not all water is safe to drink. Use good judgement and, if necessary, buy water at the grocery stores.
Not all diesel is created equal, and fuel quality varies a lot by station. Fill up at large, reputable stations in the cities or on main highways, not small rural ones, and top up before heading into the mountains. My rental company advised asking for the best quality 'Greek' or 'Shell' diesel and keeping receipts. Shell is new to Albania (arriving through the Kastrati network), and its stations carry premium fuel, so a Shell or Kastrati station is a safe bet.
Stay in Albania when travelling with a rental auto, as accidentally travelling outside Albania can incur extra costs. Always read your rental contract.
Before travelling, download the Google Map of the area you’ll be going to your phone.
Google Maps is not always reliable so keep your eyes open and trust your instincts
Also consider downloading any Spotify playlists to your phone.
Charge and carry power banks.
Albania is outside the EU, so plan for a local SIM or extra coverage from your own provider. I bought extra coverage through my provider, KPN, before I went on vacation.
Carry reliable food for the mountains and long drives, supplement with dinners you trust. For managing my gastroparesis, I carried shelf stable snacks and foods with me like protein powder, squeezie applesauces, tuna salads, and Clif bars.
Bring hand sanitiser and a pack of toilet paper. You can buy wet toilet paper at the stores. When in the mountains, paper napkins might be placed outside of toilets so check before you go.
The Details
Auto Rental: Auto Rent Bala, Rruga Kastriotët, Tirana 1050, Albania
Theth Accommodation: Villa Molla, Rruga Gjecaj, Theth 4027, Albania
Blue Eye Parking: Franc’s Bar, 9Q39+W7 Nderlysaj, Albania
Mesi Bridge: 4H7F+RX Boks, Albania
Shkodër Accommodation: SANTO Hotel, Rruga Marin Bicikemi, Shkodër, Albania
Shkodër Souvenir Shop: Souvenir Albania, Rruga Kolë Idromeno, Shkodër, Albania
Catholic Church: Metropolitan Archdiocese of Shkodër - Cathedral of Saint Stephen: Sheshi “Gjon Pali II”, Shkodër 4000, Albania
My church: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints: Rruga Gerej 19, Shkodër 4001, Albania
Shkodër Restaurant: Arti Zavane, Rruga Berdicej 4001, Shkodër, Albania
Patokut Restaurant: Aroma Patokut, Patok Patok, Laç 4706, Albania
Fuel Stations: ESP Oil, Bolv Oil, Coral, Elda, Kastrati
Taxi: Clean Taxi: Kompleksi Dinamo, Tirana 1000, Albania
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